Ever since the first people were on earth (Adam and Eve), tradition holds before there was Adam and Lillith, humans have taken issue with the power of Adonai.  I put this as nicely as I could!  Perhaps this is why we need to constantly be reminded of our history.  Clearly, as we look back, we are shown, time and again, there are terrible consequences for our sins.  Consequences not just for ourselves, but also for our children, and our succeeding generations.

        Our parashah for the week is the beginning of Deuteronomy.*  Devarim begins by telling us Moses is admonishing the Children of Israel just before he dies.  We end with what seems to me like a pep-talk.  If you think about it, Moses’ admonishments for the sins, which were alluded to by his discussion of where exactly the Israelites were at the time, weren’t for sins committed by the generation to whom he spoke.  Remember, the generation which committed these sins, which collectively resulted in an extra 40 years of wandering, also resulted in the death of those guilty parties.  Thus, this was a new generation Moses was addressing.

        From this fact alone we learn the importance of remembering history, learning from history, and that who and where we are now bears a direct correlation to what has happened to our parents, due to their choices, those of our grandparents, and all of our predecessors.  For example, I didn’t “magically appear” in the U.S.A. when I was born!  While you may be thinking something to the effect of “obviously, your parents at least lived here, and chose to remain and raise you here”.  Yes, but how did they come to be born here?  My parents are actually first-generation Americans.  This, of course, means that my grandparents are from another country/s, and chose to move here.  While it isn’t important to this commentary to delve into the entire history of where my predecessors lived, or even why they chose to move, sometimes stating the obvious, and then pointing out one cannot assume to know the whole story, is key to this week’s entry.  One also cannot assume the choice my grandparents made to move here doesn’t affect me in any way.  The why and how of it certainly has direct bearing on how I was raised, my feelings, my values, even who I am and the choices I make.  I wasn’t born in a void, and neither were any of us.  If you actually think your ancestral history has no bearing on your decisions, or choices, even how you raise your children, well, you are rather naive. 

            By admonishing the generation of Israelites born of freedom from their parents’ sins, Moses recognizes the truth of several matters.  I have just written about learning from our ancestors’ mistakes.  This idea is directly connected to Adonai’s declaration of how the “sins of the fathers will be visited upon the third and fourth generations,” and in a different place we are told those sins will be visited upon thousands of generations.  Don’t forget, we are also told the deeds of the righteous will be remembered for thousands of generations too, so don’t feel doomed!  They aren’t really contradictory statements when you realize what we do affects our children and their generations, in terms of Adonai’s rewards and punishments.  It also is a warning of sorts, that if we are cognizant of our parents’ and grandparents’ deeds and their consequences, the good ones as well as the bad ones, we might choose to be bound by their poor choices and/or actions; on the other hand, we might learn from them and follow the good examples, and not repeat their sins.  Yes, we do this consciously, or not consciously at all.  We are being admonished by Moses in this week’s parashah to make certain we make our choices with wisdom learned from the past.  We are also being admonished that it is our job to teach our children about their past too.  Of course, the simple fact that the Torah exists makes this point easy and obvious to grasp!

            Don’t simply pass along the good things about you and your family’s history, as we must not forget the mistakes need to be remembered as well.  One of the numerous, incredible truths about the Torah, when looked at as a book, is the “heroes” are all flawed, and make mistakes, sometimes rather devastating and/or embarrassing ones.  Even their embarrassments are not “swept under the carpet” in deference to their memories.  The “heroes” in the Torah are called righteous based upon the bulk of their choices and actions, sometimes the ones they made later in life.  We are, after all, forgiven if we actually change our behavior.  Let us not forget, the most important quality all these “heroes” have in common is they were righteous in being concerned with those around them, as well as those future generations.  They were not selfish people, but people who cared about the greater good.

        This week, Moses makes references to the sins of the Children of Israel, which happened despite the miracles they continually witnessed.  Oh, but if life was easy for the righteous!  The Torah teaches us not so!  We learn that even when we are “rescued” or “saved” from the clutches of those who wish us harm, we must still vigilantly do our part by remembering life won’t automatically become wonderful, we won’t automatically receive everything we want, we must demonstrate our trust and faith in Adonai and the “helping hand” we were given, and of course, we must teach this to our children, and to our grandchildren. 

        Adonai rescued us with an “outstretched hand, and a strong arm”.  Not both hands, not hugged, coddled, or comforted.  We were guided, watched over, and loved, but we still had to make our own way.  We can and should learn from our history, our own, our parents’, etc. - and here’s the caveat - but experience is the best teacher.  At least this seems to be human nature.  For example, “Don’t touch that stove, as it is hot and you will get burned” - even as adults, we don’t always, or even most of the time, heed practical advice!  Here’s the kicker:  we were given intelligence, the ability to think and make decisions for ourselves, and we were given the power of choice.  We all have our own opinions, and we are quite often blind to the truths staring us in the face.  We question. . .everything.  We forget easily.  We lose sight of the fact everything is connected, and history does, will, and always has repeated itself.  Not in the exact same way in terms of the situational details, but in consequences and outcomes of the types of choices made. 

        Hopefully, once we have been “burned by my stove example,” we won’t touch a hot stove again without insulated gloves, mits, or other type of protection.  What the generation of Israelites rescued from slavery repeatedly reverted to, unfortunately, was the habit of making the same mistake in different circumstances.  What they all had in common was they forgot to have faith and trust in Adonai.  Time and again, they were shown their basic needs would be met, maybe not in exactly the way they may have wanted, but Adonai always saw to it they had what they needed. 

        Like all of us, when they were engaged in the details of living on earth, working, teaching, etc., they let fear rule them.  They didn’t trust the word of Adonai, the covenant with Adonai, and they didn’t trust they would remain in Adonai’s favor.  They didn’t trust in Adonai’s love, and possibly even Adonai’s existence, or power.  When we struggle, it is so easy to overlook the small miracles happening every day.  We don’t trust each other to do right by us.  The enemies of the Israelites kept falling, no matter how powerful, mighty, or cunning they may have appeared to be.  This fact didn’t stop in biblical times, and WE ARE STILL HERE.  Canaan, now called Israel, is our heritage, our land, and by the way, you might want to take notice of the fact that historically, when we have been driven from our home, Israel was no longer fertile.  It is the only land I am aware of in the Middle East which has no oil.  It is smaller than, or roughly the size of, New Jersey.  If you look at a world map or globe, you have to look very hard to find it - it is that small.  Not only do we have the right to defend it, we are obligated to.

        Remember history, learn from it, and learn how to care about human life, respect human life, and take care of one another, rather than trying to destroy those who are different.  Our parashah even mentions the fact that other land belongs to the children of Esau, and of Lot.  Everything and everyone in their place, respecting each other’s right to exist in peace.  We are all children of G-d, and Adonai’s love extends to us all.  Just remember, Adonai shows us time and again, just because Adonai loves us, doesn’t make Adonai a “pushover”, or even a “softy”.  There are consequences for our actions, good and bad.  This week, we are reminded again what we do affects everyone living during our time, and the generations to come.  Selfishness, anger, hatred, etc., serve no one well.  We must be thankful for what we have, and we are obligated to vigilantly separate ourselves from evil, to protect ourselves and those around us.  We must not pretend not to notice, or ignore our obligation to help protect each other from any and all forms of evil.

          We seem, as humans, to fare very well with this concept when it comes to finding cures for diseases, and helping survivors of natural disasters.  Why don’t we realize, or rather, when will we learn, the evil man inflicts on man is not only far worse, but also must be eradicated?  There are many forms of this, including corruption of officials and judges.

          Moses included in his admonishments (this week) the importance of only placing those who are righteous in these powerful positions.  He also tells us Adonai holds responsible those who appoint the corrupt officials, the ones responsible for their evil deeds, to the same degree Adonai holds the corrupted ones responsible.  WE ARE SUPPOSED TO TAKE CARE OF AND PROTECT ONE ANOTHER.  Will we ever learn to do so?  History, and not only biblical history, demonstrates time and again the repercussions for worshipping “false gods,” i.e. those of greed, selfishness, power, etc.

        If Moses was only addressing those in front of him, why bother recording it?  What he said was timeless in its message.  He gave this speech just before he died, so we learn his concern was truly for the people, and their generations, as he would no longer be subject to the effects of their deeds in his lifetime.  We are supposed to care about those who come after us, and the world, and the values we leave behind.  This is why we need to Remember.

        Tisha B’Av is August 8th through August 9th, and is a one-day period when we take time each year to remember, mourn, and commemorate the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem, as well as, unfortunately, a vast multitude of other tragedies that occurred for the Jewish people on this same date.

        Shabbat Shalom!  I’d love to know what you think.  On a personal note, and completely off of this subject, if at any time you cannot open a page of mine to read, please try again later, or even the next day, as I do my best to rectify the situation as soon as possible.  I so appreciate your interest, and your time.  Also, if you could let me know, in case I am not aware of the problem, this would be helpful to me, and to others whom these problems affect.  Often though, the problem may be easily solved on your end (I’m giving you a temporary fix, not negating in any way my obligation to fix the larger issue), by deleting the words, “All Things Are Possible!” from the URL.  Of course, that is if they show up!  Could you imagine how much more writing I could accomplish if I didn’t have to spend so much time fixing site problems?! 

*I am not quite certain why JPS’s widget has been ahead these past few weeks, but if you check your calendars, we are on “Devarim”.